The Four Million is the second published collection of short stories by O. Henry originally released in 1906. There are twenty five stories of various lengths including several of his best known works such as "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Cop and the Anthem". The book's title refers to the then population of New York City where many of the stories are set.Contents[edit]Tobin's PalmThe Gift of the MagiA Cosmopolite in a CafeBetween RoundsThe Skylight RoomA Service of LoveThe Coming-Out of MaggieMan About TownThe Cop and the AnthemAn Adjustment of NatureMemoirs of a Yellow DogThe Love-Philtre of Ikey SchoensteinMammon and the ArcherSpringtime à la CarteThe Green DoorFrom the Cabby's SeatAn Unfinished StoryThe Caliph, Cupid and the ClockSisters of the Golden CircleThe Romance of a Busy BrokerAfter Twenty YearsLost on Dress ParadeBy CourierThe Furnished RoomThe Brief Debut of TildyWilliam Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 - June 5, 1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. His stories are known for their surprise endings.Early life:William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He changed the spelling of his middle name to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825-88), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833-65). William's parents had married on April 20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into the home of his paternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading, everything from classics to dime novels; his favorite works were Lane's translation of One Thousand and One Nights and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.Porter graduated from his aunt Evelina Maria Porter's elementary school in 1876. He then enrolled at the Lindsey Street High School. His aunt continued to tutor him until he was fifteen. In 1879, he started working in his uncle's drugstore and in 1881, at the age of nineteen, he was licensed as a pharmacist. At the drugstore, he also showed off his natural artistic talents by sketching the townsfolk...........